CARCHEX

She connected me to another rep and he did a great job hearing my dilemma and why I didn't buy a warranty from the dealer. He talked through things and told me what he had. I could have been more curious but I wasn't because he satisfied what it was that I wanted to know. I mentioned to him my story with Endurance and about how I'm a disabled veteran. He said they had stuff for veterans and I got an $800 discount for being one, which was awesome. The thing I liked about Endurance was it’s an entirely self-enclosed organization where Carchex is outsourcing and they are the handler. But I didn't see the cost saving to Endurance’s approach. It's about on par. Theirs was 4,700 and Carchex was 4,800. Cheaper for me would be by 10%.

The only thing is I would like more details available online so folks who are in my position don't have to sit on the phone and listen when that's not always advantageous. Carchex could also provide a link to the different plans. Consumers end up getting forced into a specific plan that's most advantageous to the vendor and not to the consumers. Companies come with a plan that they think would fit a consumer. But I want something that reasonably ties to what I have. Here's my pay and here's what my budget is. On the Carchex side, that wasn't bad. But it would be nice to self-service the whole thing like I do an insurance policy with USAA. I log into the system and it gives me all my options there. I'm fully aware of everything. At the end of it, you do this closure where you agree to these things and you put your signature.

The guy who set up my account answered all my questions and I had a million of them. I wanted to go month-to-month but nobody was offering it. Chris walked me through all of that and he would dig things out of the fine print to pull forward from the Zurich website that wasn't listed on the CARCHEX website. He showed me the people with older policy and what they were going to do for me and how much it was going to cost me to get it started. He showed me that there was a 30-day, 1,000-mile grace period prior to it going into coverage. He made me understand everything, which was why I went with CARCHEX. He made me comfortable and made me feel like they were not going to try and rip my head off. So, the representatives did their jobs well as opposed to trying to sell the product.

The experience with Carchex was good and it went down like a whirlwind. I changed my mind and they credited me back. I got a full refund because I jumped off prior to going into coverage. I thought that that money was going to be gone but they did exactly what they said they were going to do. Neither one of us knowing how that situation was going to turn out, but we were both prepared for whatever and they wound up going my way instead of CARCHEX way. But they held up their end of the bargain. It worked out and they were great. When I run through this truck, like I did the last truck and get ready for an extended warranty, I'm calling CARCHEX back.

I would go in for my standard service, so normal maintenance and repairs is not covered, so standard oil. Transmission oil was the big one for me because it cost me almost $400 for other things underneath my old policy, because they didn't cover fluids and/or the gaskets. There was a problem with the transmission, they fixed the transmission, but the seals and the oil weren't covered. When I went to the CARCHEX one, I found that they had one that was complete. That was great. But normal wear and tear maintenance, batteries, wire, tires, whatever, that's normal. But if they find something that's significant on that vehicle, I would say, "Well, call CARCHEX because that should be covered underneath my warranty." So, they phone CARCHEX, they get it all, and I might have to leave my vehicle there for a couple of days for them to get that straightened away, but that's just a normal process through this.

It was identified in there that if CARCHEX thinks that the garage is trying to take them, they have inspectors to go out and check on that, or at least phone them up and say, "Hey, send me pictures," and stuff like that that the dealership has to do. They look after themselves as well as me, and make sure that it is something that is really an item that should be covered under warranty and/or should be fixed. And that the value is there.

I just signed in for another four years. The car is one that we hope to have for a long time. We had my daughter's X3 in the city here, and both dealerships, by the time they were done, they had all this work would be about $6,000 or $7,000 and not worth fixing. Took it to a buddy, we ended up getting it down to 3,200 bucks. I know the priceyness of some of these repairs, especially if you got a valve cover gasket that is leaking. To do valve cover gaskets are $1,500 on a BMW. You just shake your head at it. If I could get that covered under this warranty, it's peace of mind more than anything else. And knowing I've got a standard warranty for four more years and a bumper-to-bumper other than normal maintenance, I was happy with that.

Even though the price was a bit cheaper, it was just the fact of how everything was coming about whenever the car needed service, which was one of my major issues. I was looking for something that I will have to pay some deductible or a certain percentage of, which I didn't mind. If something goes out that is a major issue and it's $3,000, I don't wanna put three grand into it. Other companies were, "Yeah, we'll only cover 50, and then you pay the other 50." I said, “Okay. So, you're telling me even if I'm paying as much as what I'm paying with you guys, I'm still gonna end up coming more out of my pocket whenever the engine blows up or something like that? So, if the engine is three grand, I will have to come up with 1,500, and then you guys cover the 1,500.” They were like, “Yeah. That’s it.” I was like, “I appreciate it, but I'm not going with you.”

Whenever an issue does come up, I'm glad I already have the service covered. Since mine is a bigger car and a newer one, it has more sensors and all this other stuff, and I don't wanna deal with any of that. So, in case something does go wrong with it and I decide to take it to the service, they would probably know the car back and forth, and it's free of mind.

But I did not end up buying the car that I was going to look at and I told the guy that we were still searching. He was so nice and told me that he would check back in on me. He called me back and asked if I had found a car. I still haven't yet. I wanted a convertible bug. It's a 2013 with 49,000 miles on it. The guy called again and by then, I told him we were getting the car that day and if he were to call me in the afternoon, we would talk. I told him my needs and my wants. He was going through it and he said 30,000 miles would come first. I couldn't do that because I put 30,000 miles on my car in a year. That was not going to be a three-year warranty for me. That was gonna be a one-year warranty.

But the guy was so thorough and was one of the best as far as dealing with anybody on the phone. He explained the differences like “I’m gonna put you on this. Your deductible will go down, but you're gonna lose some of your coverage. We’re going with a longer warranty.” In the end, I got the 100,000-mile three-year warranty. My car is covered until 150,000 miles and I couldn't believe it.

I checked with the Better Business Bureau and CARCHEX has an A rating with them. I checked out some of the reviews and what people were saying about them. I had seen that the CARCHEX is rated number one right now as far as car warranties. I felt very confident in my purchase. I also asked the guy if we could get the service cheaper if we were to pay all at once. We saved about $800.

I was not with my husband when I was making these decisions and I told the guy that. He said he would make it easier for me. He said he would put me down where I would only get charged as if I paid the policy in one payment. But they would set it up on six payments at 444, which was fine. Now, I have this nice car with a 100,000-mile warranty on it and it's paid for.

I was very satisfied with the customer service and with what I hope to get as the product. My mechanic told me that car warranties are great but sometimes they would screw you. They would send somebody out and would want the mechanic to tear the motor down completely. They would then say, "Well you didn't change the oil like you were supposed to. This is neglect." The motor's on the floor but the warranty company would not pay for it. I realize that there are things that may come along with the warranty but if I get what I was told for the cost that I was told, I will be extremely satisfied.